The Naming Game
by Barley Shadow
Summary: The cousins road trip to LA, and Mort's new story. Very hard one to write a summary for. Sequel sequel (argh, bad word) to The Literary Agent, and Viva Las Vegas. (Complete.)
1. Packing

_**A/N: **Right guys, I thought, I can't keep you waiting too long, you'll get bored and then won't read. This is a strange one, and there's a lot of names, but I guess it doesn't really matter which names go and you might get all of them by the end! And Mort doesn't show up too much in this one either, (I know, I'm ashamed of myself,) but, I quite like this one. Saying that though, you all seem to like the ones I don't like, so. . .it's a bit iffy. But, (and I'm not telling you if Clementine's still here. . .yet,) lets see how we go. . ._

Chapter One: Packing

"Venice!" yells Icing from the next room.

"What?" yells back her sister, frantically throwing clothes into bags, looking at the end product and repacking everything.

"What about sunblock? Do you think the others are gonna take some? Because if they are there's no point us doing taking any!"

"I dunno, I'll phone them," shouts Venice, tripping over the wire of her hair straighteners and grappling about for the cordless phone, hidden under several piles of clothes. She dials the number.

"Hey Levi, it's Venice," she says down the phone.

"Are you taking sunblock?" asks Levi from the other end.

"Just gonna ask you that, we'll take it then," Venice replies. "What time do you think you'll be ready tomorrow?"

"Er, well we'll finish packing tonight, and then we can be ready half past eight? Ish. As soon as we're up and washed, nine, maybe?" suggests her cousin. Venice chews her bottom lip.

"Ok, we'll be round at yours for nine, and get off straight away. Alright, see you tomorrow but probably speak to you before, bye! We're taking the sunblock!" shouts Venice to Icing hanging up the phone. Barkley comes into Icing's room, carrying a toothbrush and a pair of novelty boxer shorts.

"Barkers, have you got the road map? Because Phe hasn't got it, so it must be here somewhere," says Venice from the door.

"I'll have a look for it in a minute," says her brother, flopping down on Icing's bed.

"Bark, I'm packing that stuff, move!" shouts Icing at him, hitting him with a hairbrush. He quickly removes himself from the offending area, carefully keeping an eye out for any more swipes with the brush.

The truth was, it was a perfectly normal day for two teens and a twenty-something to be packing for a road trip. As if the packing wasn't stressful enough the organization was a mess and there were frequent phone calls to cousins about what things were being taken, and what cosmetic accessories the girls were trying to take and the boys were telling them not to.

Barkley, now on the hunt for the American road atlas he was sure he'd left with Phoenix, (Phoenix was arguing he'd given it back,) was downstairs, and got diverted from his hunt and was making a rather dangerously high sandwich. Icing, and her hairbrush, caught him in the act of edible consumption which, she thought, deserved another beating, seeing as the packing had only begun that morning, it was only ten twenty five and the next day at precisely nine o clock they would be leaving the house for two weeks. Venice found the map.

"I've got the map, it was in the garage," she shouts, emerging from the garage rather worse for wear waving the mustard yellow road atlas around in triumph. Icing, taking a bite out of Barkley's sandwich and then making a face to show her disgust for the filling, took it and put it, with other things, in the passenger seat of the car.

"Alright," she announces when she returns, "When you guys are ready you can load the car up because my things are almost packed and I've noticed you two are nowhere near ready." She opens a bottle of mineral water and takes a sip.

"Well if you're finished then you can start packing the car," retorts Venice. "Because I for one have a lot to do, so I will leave you two devouring your breakfast-come-lunch and continue with my good work." She left Icing and Barkley in the kitchen and returned to her room, where, Icing had been right, she was nowhere near ready. She takes first skirts and then tops out of the closet, folding them half-neatly and stuffs them in the large rucksacks with wheels.

So by the evening, everything was packed, the pizza had been ordered and Barkley and Phoenix had arranged which way they were going to Los Angeles, because it was a two day trip and it was pointless to go round in circles.

"If we go on twenty, then ten to El Paso," Barkley says into the phone, holding it between his right ear and his right shoulder, the atlas in one hand and a finger pointing so he knew where abouts he was in America. "We'll stay at El Paso for the night, then carry on with the ten until LA, or do you wanna stay a night or two in San Diego? Alright. We'll take the fifteen north to Las Vegas, stay in Las Vegas then come back down the fifteen and onto the forty to Oklahoma City and then thirty five down to Forth Worth, and I think we'll know our way back to Dallas from Fort Worth, or I should hope so at least." He listens while Phoenix speaks. "Yeah, sure. I'm gonna drive us the first part, then we'll probably switch and Venice'll drive onto El Paso. Uh huh. Uh huh. Yeah. Alright? See you tomorrow, at nine I've been told. Ok. Bye." He hangs up. There's a knock at the door and Icing gives the pizza guy twenty bucks and takes the pizza through to the living room.

"Alright, cheese and tomato, that's Venice's, and pepperoni, mine, Barkley, what did you order?" she says rummaging through pizza boxes and potato wedges boxes, sauces and dips.

"One of those things with everything on it," shouts Barkley from the kitchen.

"Barkers you are a greedy bastard," she says, taking a potato wedge from the box and flicking the TV on. "Did you sort out a route with Phoenix?"

"Yeah," says Barkley sitting down to eat his food, eyes glued on the TV screen.

"You know, I really think we should both have maps, we're taking two cars, what if they get lost and we've got the map?" asks Venice.

"Then at least we won't get lost," replies Barkley.


	2. A New Story

_**A/N: **Chappie 2, the return of CLEMENTINE! Yay! Mystery story, could possibly get a bit more confusing from here on in._

Chapter Two: A New Story

Mort saved the word document and shut the computer down. Clementine shouts up to him.

"Are you done? Can we go now?" Mort looks over the banister at her.

"Sure." He takes the stairs two at a time and looks at his wife. She was wearing cropped pants and a halter top, and looking lovely, carrying a pale frilly parasol.

"Where did you get that?" Mort asks, looking at it.

"Do you say that in disgust?" Clementine asks, folding the parasol up.

"It looks, very late eighteenth century," Mort decides as he holds open the door for her.

"Mort, I can open doors for myself now," she says. Mort knew she was right.

Several months ago, Clementine had a near-death experience in a Las Vegas casino. Simone, who had a personality like Shooter, had tried to kill her, and died falling out of a several storey window. Since then, Mort had always done his best to stop Clementine coming into contact with anything possibly dangerous, and Clementine was fed-up of it.

"I just want to look after you, you know that," says Mort. Clementine takes his hand.

"I know."

"You've come close to death twice now, I don't want it to happen again."

That was true, apart from someone trying to garrotte her in the casino, Shooter himself had tried to drown Clementine previous to that, in an episode where Clementine and Mort both ended up in hospital nearly dead.

"I know. Now are we going to go boating on the lake or aren't we?" she says, raising her voice a little, with a hint of impatience in it.

"Yes we are," says Mort, as he locks the door and heads out to the jetty where there's a row boat and oars. Clementine steps in with her parasol open above her head, rocking the boat slightly. Mort follows her, picking up the oars and taking a few pulls out into the lake.

"You know in Venice, Italy, the men rowing the boats sing to the ladies in the boat," says Clementine.

"They're not boats, they're gondolas, and we're not in Italy, we're on Tashmore Lake enjoying a quiet, warm afternoon. You don't really want to hear me sing, do you?" asks Mort.

"No," says Clementine and Mort looks a little relieved. "I've heard it before."

"When?" asks Mort, taking them both into the middle of the lake.

"When you're in the shower," explains Clementine, as if it was so simple a child of three could have worked it out.

"Right, I didn't know you listened in on my shower times," says Mort, smiling.

"Well, only once, and the singing put me off doing it again," says Clementine, blushing.

"I know what to do now to get rid of you. Venice, it's a nice name for a girl," says Mort. "We'll have to name our daughter that."

"Kids?" asks Clementine.

"Well, I, erm, I," Mort is lost for words.

"Yeah, I know what you er," replies his wife. "Alright, what else do you like?"

"Well, I like, for guys, Barkley and Phoenix," Clementine wrinkles her nose. "And for girls, Levi, Harley, and Icing. I've put them all in my new story, eventually I'm going to kill them all off, but what do you think of the names?"

"Harley, that's probably the nicest. You know what name I like?" Mort shakes his head. "Lily. For a girl."

"Lily?" asks Mort in disgust. "Silly Lily." Clementine reaches out to hit him but only succeeds in tipping the boat a little.

"Yes I suppose so," says Mort. "Or Lilly pad."

"Morton Rainey. One more snide comment and I shall poke you with my parasol."


	3. All Aboard the Halesmobile

Chapter Three: All aboard the Halesmobile

"Venice! Venice? Are you coming, it's half past nine!" shouts Icing up the stairs.

"I just need to pack. . . I just need to pack. . ." comes Venice's voice from her bedroom.

"Well you just needed to pack last night, Venice!" shouts back Icing, swinging on the end of the banister, the car revs up outside. "Barkley's just started the car, if you're not down here in five minutes we'll go without you!" She picks up the multipack of potato chips from the counter, 24 pack of bottled mineral water and goes to the car. Venice stumbles downstairs carrying an assortment of almost-forgotten things and locks the back door behind her. She gets into the Dodge and hands the keys forward to Barkley who puts them between the drivers and passengers seats.

"Are you sure everywhere's locked up? Mom's not gonna be happy if she comes back from her cruise to an empty house," says Icing, passing the water and chips back to Venice who puts them on the last seat.

"The house is locked up, the windows are shut, the doors are shut, the pool is covered, the garage door is locked," reels off Venice just as Barkley closes the garage door.

"Ok, alright. Are you all ready?" asks Barkley, as a rhetorical question.

"Well, now you mention it, I'm sure I didn't pack. . ." says Venice, smiling. Icing knew she was winding her up.

"Venice, shut up! Lets go, we're forty minutes late, Phoenix'll think we're not coming."

They pulled up outside their cousins house and Barkley goes to knock on the front door. Levi opens it.

"Hey Barkley, we've been waiting ages for you," she says.

"Venice's fault," says Barkley. "We're just outside." Levi closes the door and a minute later the other Dodge comes from behind the house and follows Barkley, Venice and Icing out of Dallas, onto the highway.

According to plan, excluding emergencies, they weren't going to stop until they reached the town of Odessa, to get more gas, food and use the bathroom. But of course, the plan didn't work and apart from stopping in Fort Worth, less than fifty miles from home, they also stopped at Abilene, Odessa, and Van Horn before reaching the desired destination of El Paso. At El Paso they booked one night in a Travellers Inn, two rooms, and went to get Taco Bell.

"So how are you guys finding the trip so far?" asks Venice, picking at her dinner.

"Well, if you exclude Phe's awful taste in music, alright, Harley's got the entire backseat to herself cos we put stuff in the two little ones at the far back like you did, and there's lots of room, its nice and cool and even though we stopped three times too many we're still in El Paso in one day, so, alright," replies Levi.

"Sounds like you're having a great time kiddo," says Barkley, reaching for the sauce.

"We are, just can't wait til we get there," replies Phoenix.

The next morning, everyone was showered and packed up into the two cars, Icing and Levi had swapped cars, and they were all on their way towards Los Angeles, on highway ten. Stopping at the state line between Texas and New Mexico, everyone took pictures of eachother by the signs, and made full use of the freebies the service station was giving out. When they got back into the cars, Venice drove the Hales', and Harley was behind the wheel of the Andrews'.

"Come on guys, fasten your seatbelts we are going non-stop to LA!" crows Venice. "Well, maybe stop between New Mexico and Arizona, and maybe between Arizona and California, just for the photos."


	4. The New Story

_**A/N: **Thank yous to Dawnie-7 and Esmeralda Sparrow, my lovely reviewers. This chappie's a half Mort half Mort's story one, but a little bit of Mort goes a long long way._

_xx_

Chapter Four: The New Story

Mort closes the laptop. That was enough new story for now, he'd write again, should he have inspiration, in a while. But for now, Clementine was making lunch. Mort hears her coming up the stairs.

"PB&J for you Mr. Rainey," she says, smiling and putting down sandwiches before Mort. "Got to keep your strength up, writing's a difficult job. So, tell me more about this new story of yours." She picks up one of Mort's sandwiches and begins to eat. Mort does the same.

"Well, Barkley, Venice and Icing are all siblings, and Phoenix, Harley and Levi are all siblings, and they're cousins, and Phoenix, Harley and Levi's mom died and Barkley, Venice and Icing's mom is out of the country at the minute, on a cruise. And they're going on a road trip from Dallas, where they live, to California and Disneyland, and to Hollywood then Las Vegas and back to Texas. And they're followed by this guy. They're travelling intwo different cars following eachother and one of the cars disappears, and the others think nothing of it because they've probably just come off at the wrong junction, and then when they do meet up, one of the ones who got lost before is missing, probably Levi. And the guys that didn't get lost thought Levi was with the guys that did get lost, and they thought Levi was with them. Am I making any sense?"

"A bit. Is that as far as you've thought out yet?" Clementine takes another bite.

"Yeah," Mort admits.

"So, you're not sure yet why this guy is following them, is he killing them?" she asks.

"Yeah, I think in the end I'm only gonna have one left, and I'll leave it so the reader assumes they die too." Clementine nods her head in thought.

"I think it's good. It's different to what you've done before, you haven't done teen stuff before right?"

"No, but change is good, its, experimental," says Mort, looking down at the empty plate and wondering how Clementine could eat so much peanut butter and jelly in one sitting. "What are you writing at the minute?"

"Writer's block," explains Clementine. "I'm sure something will turn up, and then I'll give even your good story a run for its money."

"Nah uh, I don't think so Mrs. Rainey," says Mort, leaning in for a kiss. Clementine kisses him.

"Well then, we'll just have to wait and see who gets this Christmas' number one spot," she says. "And it won't be you Morton."

"If it's not me then it won't be you," says Mort.

"Oh, so we're using fighting talk now are we?"

"Yes. And talking of beating you to the number one, I'd better get writing," says Mort, reloading his saved document. Clementine huffs and turns on her own laptop. Mort begins to type.

It didn't take long to get to the Arizona boarder, and Icing was thankful, for as much as she loved Phoenix's eclectic music taste, she couldn't put up with it for much longer, and she gave Levi back that pleasure. Another state line, and another state line photo, in fact, another round of state line photos because everyone had a camera, and Phoneix was in charge of the video diary.

"Arizona has got all the Indian Reservations in it, hasn't it?" Venice asks from the middle seat of the car, Icing was driving.

"Yeah, I think," she replies.

"I remember doing all about them at school, in performing arts," says Venice.

"Sounds posh," says Icing, switching lanes on the highway and sending Venice sprawled about the middle seat.

"We didn't do anout the reservations though, but we watched this film with Kevin Costner in it, um, something about wolves and they had all the teepee's and everything, it was really good," babbles Venice.

"Venice," comes Barkley's gruffer voice from the passenger seat. "I'm trying to sleep, shut up." Venice pulls a face behind his back.

"Did we bring the portable DVD player?"


	5. It's a Long Way to Tipperary

Chapter Five: It's a long way, to Tipperary, I mean, California!

"What's that song, about um, that place and it was a long way to go, it's a long way, da da da da da, to the sweetest girl I know, that one?" asks Venice from the middle seat of the car.

"Tipperary," replies Icing. "It's a long way to Tipperary."

"It's a long way to Tipperary, it's a long way to go, it's a long way to California, to the sweetest girl I know, goodbye Dallas inter-state, farewell El Paso, it's a long long way to California, but, um, El Paso doesn't rhyme with 'there' does it? Farewell El Paso, it's a long long way to California, but to California, we'll go! Ta daaa!"

"Charming," says Barkley from the passenger seat.

"Did we bring the portable DVD player?"

"Yeah, it's under the, um, under, it's on the back seat somewhere," says Icing glancing in the car mirror. Venice scrabbles around for a while, and finds it, pulling wires from all over the car. She hands Icing the adaptor to plug into the cigarette lighter.

"What shall I watch?" she asks. "What did we bring? The Others, seen it, Austin Powers, nah, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, whyever did we buy that? Ah ha! Return of the King." And Venice was silent, through Lordsburg, Tucson, Yuma, and then the state line.

"California!" Venice jumped out of the middle seat and into the sunshine, spreading her arms wide and twirling about. "Two days and we're here!" Levi and Harley quickly followed her, leaving Barkley and Phoenix to lock up the cars as they ran into the state line buildings.

"Girls, don't spend too long, we've still got over a hundred miles left before we reach LA," calls Barkley.

After sprucing themselves up in the bathroom, the girls got back into the cars.

"Icing, I'm coming with you," calls Levi across the parking lot.

"Alright," shouts back Icing. "Barkley, Levi's coming with us!"

"Ok."

"I'll stay with Phoenix then," says Harley slamming the car door shut. Levi knocks on the window of Harley's door. She winds the window down.

"Barkley says take this, in case we get seperated once we leave the highway. This is where we're staying, little town just outside Los Angeles, and this is the junction where we come off the highway," explains Levi pointing at the map then handing it to Harley. "I just wanna get some stuff out of the back of the car." She clambers into the car, gathering her travelling things.

"I think Levi's going with Phoenix and Harley," says Venice in the other car. Barkley starts the engine.

"Alright then, lets roll."

About twenty miles down the highway, Icing stares out of the back window. She pokes, Venice, who's sitting in the passenger seat.

"I can't see the others anywhere," she says, and Venice turns to look herself.

"Barkley, we've lost Phoenix," she says to her brother. He glances quickly in the mirror.

"Alright, we'll keep going, we can't really stop on the highway and then they'll either go past us or they'll have taken a wrong turn out of the last service station and be a while behind. We'll keep going to the hotel, and check in and wait for them there," says Barkley.

"Sure. Venice, where did you put the DVD player?" asks Icing, throwing stuff about in the back.

"It's on the floor," replies Venice.

"Well isn't that a great place to put a delicate and valuble thing," says Icing with sarcasm. She looks around on the floor and pulls the player up, handing Venice the adaptor, it's plugged in.

"Barkley," says Venice, a further twenty miles down the highway. "I need the bathroom."

"What?" asks Barkley. "You don't go back at the state line when you spent twenty minutes in there?"

"No, I had to make myself look beautiful," says Venice. Sighing, Barkley looks for the nearest service station.

"Alright, we're about five minutes away and then we'll stop."

In five minutes, Barkley pulls into the service station and Venice hops out of the car quickly. Icing, pulling the earphones from her ears looks about the parking lot.

"Barkley, Phoenix is here!" she exclaims, opening the door. The other car is parked about fifty yards away and Icing runs towards it. Back with Barkley she tells him that no ones in the car.

"They must all be inside," she says. Barkley puts his hand in his pocket and brings out a handful of change, and he and Icing go into the shop to get candy and water. Phoenix is paying at the checkout, and Harley is browsing the candy aisle.

"Hey Phe," says Barkley as he takes a twelve pack of water and chocolate bars to the checkout. "Thought you'd taken a wrong turn out of the service station." Phoenix hands the checkout girl some coins.

"Yeah, got here before you though," he says. "It's been really quiet without Levi."

"Without Levi?" asks Barkley.

"Yeah, she's really noisy whenever she's with us, she hasn't been a nuisance has she? She gets on my nerves when I'm driving."

"Levi isn't with us," Barkley stops and says.

"What? We thought she was with you, she came back to us and then went back to you, you haven't got her?"

"No, she never came back to us," sasy Barkley.

"Then she must be back at that state line."


	6. Back to Arizona

_**Disclaimer (haven't had one in a while): **Right, don't own Mort, but pretty much everything else in this story is mine. _

_**A/N: **Eeek! They left Levi behind! I would be very scared if that happened to me because America is a BIG PLACE!_

_**Dedication: **I'm going to dedicate this chappie to Dawnie-7 for the lovely reviews. (I haven't forgotten you Esmeralda Sparrow!)_

Chapter Six: Back to Arizona

"Guys we gotta go," says Barkley, grabbing Icing, and Venice when she emerges from the bathroom.

"Why the panic?" asks Venice, shaking her hands dry.

"Because Levi isn't with Phoenix," sasy Barkley.

"She's not with us, we left her?!?!" exclaims Icing. "Oh my God!"

"Exactly, we're on our way back to Arizona for her," says Barkley. He started the car and Venice and Icing got in. Harley went with Phoenix and they both sped back down the highway as fast as they could. Icing, realizing they would never make it back to the state line and then into Los Angeles in the same day, it was already the afternoon, called Harley on her mobile.

"Harley? Yeah, we were just thinking, we'll have to try and find a hotel in Yuma, by the state line because we won't get to our hotel before tomorrow unless we drive through the night. Hang on. Barkley says he's fine driving through the night is one of you's ok with that," she pauses, Harley talks to Phoenix.

"Yeah, I'll drive through the night, I'll get some sleep as soon as we hang up then."

"Alright, Levi would have stayed at the state line wouldn't she? She wouldn't have gone anywhere else?"

"No, she's have stayed, I'm gonna go in a minute because she'd try and phone us, we're only surprised she hasn't tried before now, and we want to keep our line open so she can get through, keep your phone open too," says Harley.

"Sure, ok, good plan, we'll talk to you in Yuma," says Icing and hangs up the phone. "Harley's gonna sleep now and drive through the night, keep our phone open incase Levi tries to call, they're surpirsed she hasn't called them yet but they think that's what she's gonna do," Icing quickly drafts Barkley and Venice in on the phone call. "We'll speak to them next at Yuma."

"Alright."

"Barkley, do you want me to drive the night? You've driven all day, and most of yesterday you must be exhausted," offers Venice.

"If you're sure, you better try and sleep now so you're awake," says Barkley. Icing hands her a pillow from the back seat and Venice settles down, eyes shut.

Three quarters of an hour later, both cars pull into the same state line service station and everyone looks for Levi. Harley bounds up the the girl behind the desk.

"You haven't seen a girl here have you? She's have been here a good hour and a half, she eighteen, dark hair, dark eyes, what was she wearing Phe?" Harley asks her brother.

"An Outlaws tank top and jeans, I think," he replies.

"I don't think so," the girl says.

"You don't think so?" Harley questions. "Think harder, this is really important, we left her behind."

"No, I don't remember seeing anyone like that, sorry," the girl says again.

"Oh God!" Harley exclaims. Icing comes into the station.

"She's not in the bathroom, or the shop, she's not here?" she asks.

"No, they haven't seen her, we left her here where the hell could she have got to?" says Phoenix, more to release anger than to get a reply.

"You don't think she'd have tried to hitch-hike a ride to the hotel do you?" asks Venice.

"No, we've always been told, mom always used to say, if yo get lost stay whee you are and we'll come back for you, if you move we won't know where you are," says Harley.

"What are we gonna do? There's no point us staying here if she's not here," says Icing.

"Do you wanna go on to the hotel?" Barkley asks Phoenix.

"Do we have a choice? Not really, lets look round once more, really really carefully, look a little further than just the service station, she could have got a long way in ninety minutes but she wouldn't have walked because of the heat, if she's not anywhere around here then we'll have to go on and report her missing as soon as we get to the hotel, alright? I'll look out the back," says Phoenix. The others name a place to search and they all walk off, rather quickly.

Half an hour later, they all met up at the front of the state line service station.

"Nope."

"No."

"Nothing."

"Nada."

"Well, on to the hotel, then?" asks Icing. Phoenix sadly nods his head.

"On to the hotel, and we'll phone the police as soon as we get there," says Phoenix. Harley has tears in her eyes.

"Come on darling," says Venice taking her into an embrace. "She'll be fine."

"But, we left her, and drove fifty miles, how can we not notice for fity miles," sobs Harley.

"Because we were in separate cars, she'll understand that, she'll be alright about it," says Venice. "Come on, the best thing we can do is get to the hotel, report her missing, she could be at the hotel already, by the time we've lost today, don't panic."

"Yes, alright," Harley wipes her nose on her arm and gets into the car. Both cars pull away, and drive back down the same stretch of highway, for the third time.

Harley drives the Andrews' car through the night, still sniffing, while Phoenix lies sprawled out on the middle seat, slightly snoring.

As the new sun crept slowly up, both cars turn into the hotel where they have four nights booked, now three, and everyone meets up.

"Did she call you?" asks Harley as soon as she steps out of her car. Icing shakes her head and takes her into a cuddle again.

"I'll phone the cops as soon as we're checked in," says Phoenix.

"Good, well, lets get on with it then," sasy Venice, stepping towards the entrance.

Phoenix called the police and the other went and checked in, got their keys and found their rooms.

"The cops can't do anything until she's been missing for twenty four hours," says Phoenix, trudging into the hotel room where Harley is unpacking a suitcase. Venice comes from the next room.

"What did they say Phe?" she asks.

"They can't do anything until she's been missing twenty four hours," he repeats.

"Well, that's not too long away," Venice comforts him.

"Yeah, I suppose, I can't believe we left her though, and that we can't find her," says Phoenix.

"Don't worry about her, she's a big girl," says Venice.


	7. Taken

_**A/N: **Thank you, reviewers! And the thing in this chapter about the bathroom and The Hours and Nicole Kidman, it's all true! Freaked me out! But, stupidly, we didn't see Johnny Depp's star._

Chapter Seven: Taken?

"What do you think Barkley?" asks Venice, as she returns to her hotel room. Barkley's unpacking a few things into the room.

"Honestly? I don't know," replies Barkley. "I just hope she's alright."

"Can I tell you what I think?" asks Venice, sitting down on the bed.

"Sure."

"Phoenix and Harley are pretty sure she wouldn't leave, the rest stop, and she wasn't there, I think, I think there's always the possibilty that she's been taken," says Venice, quietly.

"Taken?" asks Barkley, although knowing quite well what she means.

"Yeah, it's awful, but, if she wouldn't leave and she wasn't there, then it fits," says Venice. Icing comes into the room.

"What fits?" she asks.

"We were, we were just saying, that Levi could have been kidnapped, taken by someone at the rest stop, we're not saying that's what we think, but, it's a possibilty," explains Venice. Icing sits next to her.

"It had crossed my mind too, but I didn't want to say anything to Phoenix or Harley, they must be going through hell."

After much discussion the next morning, the five decided to go ahead with the holiday as planned, much as Phoenix wanted to stay at the hotel in case Levi turned up, saying that he wouldn't enjoy the holiday without her.

Only taking one car, Barkley drove into Los Angeles and then into Hollywood. Cameras at the ready, Venice, Icing, Harley, Phoenix and Barkley piled out of the car, putting some coins into the metre and setting off to see some sights. But before going too far, Venice needed the bathroom. After looking for one for at least twenty minutes, they found one, in a tour store, and everyon epicked up a map of Hollywood, showing the Walk of Fame, and where each celebrity's star was.

"That is a disgusting bathroom," says Venice, coming out shaking her hands like a wild woman. "I was almost too afraid to wash my hands." Icing nervously went in after her, to the small bathroom with The Hours poster pinned up. Icing felt incredibly creeped out, feeling as if Nicole Kidman's eyes were always on her, and not in the most flattering position.

They started walking down the stars, inspecting the names. Harley wanted to see Ozzy Osbourne's star, while Venice wanted to see Johnny Depp's, and of course, all the stars they wanted to see were blocks away from eachother.

After walking the Walk of Fame, and photographing the Hollywood sign, they decided to shop a little, for souveniers. Whilst browsing the shelves, Harley managed to hear a snippet from a news radio broadcast.

"Police have discovered the body of a teenage girl in forests in Arizona, they do not have any identification at the moment and are urging anyone who knows of a missing teenage girl with shoulder length brown hair in the west Arizona area to come forward." Harley stopped, almost dead, and beginning to shake, so much she dropped the glass ornament she was holding at the time.

"Hey, you will have to pay for that ma'am," says the storeowner as Icing runs to her side.

"Harley are you ok?" she asks, putting an arm around her cousin. "What's wrong?"

"Levi's dead," says Harley, tears welling in her eyes, even her voice shaking.

"What?"

"They've found a body in Arizona, didn't you hear the radio a second ago? They've found a body in Arizona!" she broke down in tears and her legs collapsed beneath her, Icing lowering her to the floor as she cried uncontrollably. By this time, Phoenix and Barkley were by their side.

"Harley says she heard a news broadcast on the radio, they've found a body in Arizona, teenage girl with shoulder length brown hair," Icing tells Phoenix, immediately his eyes well also.

"We don't know if it's her, we'll go straight away," says Barkley, bending by Harley, to help her up.

"Of course it's her!" screams Harley, still sitting. "Of course it's her."

"Come on Harley, we've got to go and see, it's no good staying here in the dark," comforts Icing. "Where's Venice?" she asks her brother.

"Dunno, she must have left the store, I'll be back in a minute," and he went to look for Venice. Icing had helped Harley to her feet and they were taking slow steps towards the exit of the store. Phoenix, tears rolling down his cheeks too, almost threw twenty bucks at the woman behind the cashout for the broken glass.

"We've just got to hold on a minute for Barkley, he's gone to find Venice," Icing says to Phoenix. Harley's legs are still weak and Icing is still having to hold her up, but at the thought of waiting for Barkley, she lowered Harley to the floor again, where Phoenix sat and hugged his sister. Two or three minutes later, he came back.

"I can't find her," he says, "She's nowhere round here, I asked people, no one's seen her."

"Levi, we've got to go and see Levi," Harley sobbed from the sidewalk. Icing stood up beside Barkley.

"Listen, you take Phoneix and Harley back to the border, Phoneix can't drive like this, and one of us has got to stay and find Venice," she says.

"But then you won't be able to get back to the hotel, we only brought one car," says Barkley, not wanting to leave his sister so far away.

"We'll get a taxi," Icing says, "You go, I'll keep looking for her, keep your cell on." So Barkley and Phoenix supported a sobbing Harley back to the car, and left for the state line. Icing, located herself on her map of Hollywood, bought a bottle of water and began looking for, and asking after, Venice.

No one had seen her, and Icing knew she was going to have a hard time finding a girl in Hollywood, the place was packed with them, mostly in their teens, most with blonde hair, most tall and slender. It wasn't going to be easy.

Phoenix and Harley sat together in the back of the car all the way to Arizona, back to the same rest stop to ask for which police station to go to. After finding out what they should do, they left.

The police were sympathetic, knowing that even if the dead girl wasn't their sister, they still had a missing relative, and the police still had an unidentified dead body. Phoenix went to see the girl, both he and Barkley knew Harley wouldn't be up to it, but as soon as returned, crying and nodding that it was Levi, Harley burst into the room and fell to her knees before her dead sister. Her face was pale and her hair straggly, wet and matted around her face, her clothes looked like rags and her hands were covered in damp dirt. Her eyes were closed and her lips blue.

"Can I touch her?" Harley asked the officer. He nodded, and Harley reached out a hand to caress her sisters face. The body was freezing cold and hard as stone, limp as if a puppet. Harley stroked her sisters hair and held her hand. "Levi? Levi."


	8. A Girl Found

_**A/N: **Back to the wonderful Mort – for a while. And his story's really only just begun, but things can't get much worse._

Chapter Eight: A girl found

Clementine sat on the sofa, watching the TV, a bowl of ice-cream in her hand and bathrobe covering her. Mort comes down the stairs and kisses her on the cheek.

"How's the football going?" he asks, walking into the kitchen. Clementine shakes her head.

"It's over," she says, scooping ice-cream into her mouth.

"Oh, who won?" asks Mort.

"Can't remember," replies Clementine.

"Can't remember?" asks Mort, coming back through to the living room with ice-cream of his own.

"Ssh," Clementine hushes him. He's quiet, while Clementine listens to the end of the news.

"A girls body's been found in California, she's only eighteen, unidentified," she says, putting her spoon and bowl onto the coffee table.

"Oh." Mort wondered why he should be interested, and then felt a sympathetic pang. They sat in silence for a minute, until Mort thought Clementine had finished thinking about the dead girl. "Do you want to go out tonight?"

"Sure, where?"

"Movie, restaurant, museum," suggested Mort.

"Restaurant, much as I like museums there aren't too many round here, and there's no decent movies in the theatres at the minute," decided Clementine.

"Sure. You writing today?" asks Mort, Clementine cuddles up to him.

"Yeah, I suppose," she says. "You?"

"Yup, which is why I can't sit cuddling on the couch," says Mort, getting up, Clementine repositions herself as Mort wanders back up the stairs to the office balcony, sitting down at his laptop. Clementine, knowing she should do the same, goes into the bedroom with the thought of getting dressed, but comes back out a second later and sits at her own laptop in her bathrobe.

"What're you writing?" asks Mort.

"Romantic comedy," she replies, opening her saved document. "I figured that you write enough horror for both of us, so I'm trying something else."

"Cool."

"How are you getting on, another horror isn't it?" asks Clementine.

"Yup. They've just discovered that Levi's been killed, well, that Levi's died, they don't know yet if she was killed, Icing is still in Hollywood looking for Venice who's disappeared, so they're pretty seperated. Icing's going to come back but Venice isn't, she's my next victim," says Mort as he begins to type. Clementine sat for a while, her feet hunched up onto the chair, biting her nails, searching for some inspiration.

"Are they all gonna die?" she asks her husband.

"I think so, I was gonna leave one alive, but then I thought, nah," says Mort, "I'll kill them all, then finish with the murderer."

"Sounds good," Clementine replied as she began to type quickly into the laptop.


	9. She's Not Here

Chapter Nine: She's not here

"Icing? Icing?" asks Barkley down the cell phone. The other end of the line crackles.

"Yeah, I'm here," says Icing.

"Is Venice there?" asks Barkley.

"No, she's not. I asked all day in Hollywood, no one's even seen her, let alone knows where she's gone, even in any particular direction, it's like she's disappeared off the face of the earth," Icing says, then she thinks about Harley. "Please, please tell me it's not Levi."

"It is," Barkley replies.

"Oh my God, God. How are Phoenix and Harley?" asks Icing, a slight stammer in her voice.

"They're not good, but holding up really well. I'd be a lot worse if it were one of you."

"Don't, even say that Barkley please. I'm going back to the hotel now, I'm in a taxi, and I'm coming back up tomorrow to carry on looking."

"Alright, Phoneix and Harley want to stay in Arizona, and there's no way I'm telling them I'm leaving them, so you're gonna be up there alone until you find Venice, ok?"

"Alright. Barkley, I'm really freaked out."

"I know, me too, we just gotta try and keep a cool head, you know? I've got to go, my credits low, don't give up hope, I'll speak to you soon, bye." Barkley hung up the phone, scared for both his sisters. Harley and Phoenix were in the next hotel room, they had found a cheap one just near the state line and had paid for a few nights.

Icing, back at the hotel, sat alone on her hotel bed. Knowing that the others wouldn't be back at least until the room rent had run out at this hotel, she went into Phoenix and Harley's and began gathering up their clothes and things. It was silly for the room to be left unused for days, she might as well clear it out and get a return on the money they paid for it. She returned the key to reception and hauled everyone's luggage into her room, where it took up most of the floor space. She wanted to keep herself busy, she didn't want to have to think about the others, or Levi, or Venice, wherever she may be. So Icing had a shower, and watched a movie, ate some dinner, and tried not to think about it. But she couldn't help it, her cousin was dead and her sister was missing, it was too much of a coincidence for there to be a link. There couldn't be a link, it was just two terribly tradgic events that unfortunately happened to the same family in the same few days. She thought for a while, and then phoned her brother.

"Barkley?"

"Yeah."

"How's Phoenix and Harley?"

"Still not great, I don't want to crowd them, so I'm in the next room."

"Have you cried?"

"Yeah."

"Me too. I've emptied their room, and returned the key, I don't think you'll be back for anyone to stay in there."

"Good idea, still no news from Venice?"

"None."

"Icing?"

"Yes?"

"I'm scared."

"I know. It's too much to handle, within three days." Icing wiped a tear creeping from her eye.

"She'll be alright."

"Yeah. But Levi. I really want to see her Barkley. How, is she? Do they know anything?"

"She looks peaceful, if it's any consolation. The police say she was strangled." Icing gasps, and then tears flow from her eyes.

"You ok?"

"Not really."

"She just looks like she's sleeping, there's hardly any marks on her at all, she's just a bit dirty."

"God. Those kids had been through enough already, losing their mom, I can't imagine what they're feeling."

"I know. What was five's now two, hard to imagine. I'll come back tomorrow, you can drive back and see her, and I'll carry on looking for Venice."

"Thanks."

"Icing, we've got to stay strong."

"I know. I'm just such an emotional mess at the minute," Icing rests her head in her heads, crying into the cell phone.

"We all are. You're alright up there on your own?"

"Yes. Don't worry about me, concentrate on Phoneix and Harley."

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye," Icing hangs up, and lays down on the double bed.


	10. Missing

Chapter Ten: Missing

Barkley arrived at the hotel near Los Angeles early the next morning, to give Icing plenty of time to get back to Arizona, and have plenty of time for him to look for Venice.

He took the other Dodge and parked in almost the same spot in Hollywood as the day before. He didn't know where to look. The main part of Hollywood wasn't very big, but the houses went up the hill almost to the sign, and there was miles the other way which Venice could have taken. He began to ask on the streets and in stores, no one had seen her. He showed them the picture of the three siblings, taken last Christmas, in his wallet, no one had seen her. He even started knocking on doors by the main part of Hollywood, no one had seen her. But, he didn't give up hope, if he asked one person once, he asked them a thousand times and he stopped nearly everyone he saw. Returning to hotel, he knew one thing. Venice couldn't be in Hollywood anymore.

In Arizona, Phoenix and Harley had started with the legal things, still in tears, having almost not stopped from the previous day, and missing their sister like crazy, they filled in forms, and filled in forms. Icing saw Levi, as she wanted to, and helped comfort her cousins, even though nearly all she could think about was her missing sister.

Barkley didn't phone that night, Icing tried phoning him but he didn't pick up, she didn't know if he was at the hotel or driving back to them, whether he'd found Venice or not. At the minute, the whole lot of them were very delicate.

Icing tried phoning Barkley the next day, again he didn't answer, and she cursed the size of the United States of America, knowing it would take her hours to get back to Los Angeles and she didn't want to leave Phoenix and Harley.

In the afternoon she tried him again, and then she tried the hotel, after looking the number up in the book.

"Can you put me through to room thirty four? I'm trying to get hold of my brother Barkley Hales."

"The Hales key was left yesterday evening, the room is empty."

"Oh. So, they left yesterday, about what time?"

"About half past eight."

"Alright, thank you for your help."

"Barkley's left the LA hotel," Icing tells Phoneix back at the Arizona hotel. "I'm surprised he hasn't got here yet, but maybe there's back traffic, or he took a wrong turn."

"Yeah, wait until tomorrow, give him some time. And Icing?" Phoneix asks.

"Uh huh?"

"Thanks for all your help, and Barkley's, you've been great. Have you not got through to him at all?"

"Nope," Icing says.

"So you don't know if he's found Venice?" Icing shakes her head, and Phoneix gives her a hug.

"Then you need some comforting too."

"If Barkley doesn't get here tomorrow, we're gonna have to report them both missing, Venice has been gone three days now," says Icing, a tear forming in her eye.

"Yeah, they'll be alright, they're probably together," comforts Phoneix.

Barkley didn't get to the Arizona hotel by the next afternoon, and Icing did report them missing. The police approached Icing, Harley and Phoenix, and asked them if they wanted to do an appeal, that would be on the news that evening. They agreed, and the police organized everything.

"We just want Barkley and Venice with us, if you're out there you know where we are, and if you know anything about them, please, please tell the police," says Icing into the camera, Phoenix and Harley sat at her side. The camera switches to the reporter.

"The unidentified missing girl in the Arizona Califoria state line area has been identified, the police reveal, as Levi Andrews, sister of Phoenix and Harley Andrews, cousin of Icing Hales and missing Barkley and Venice. If you know anything about the whereabouts of the two missing people, please come forward as soon as possible, this family needs some comfort as this dreadful time. Nicola Quinn, ABC News, Arizona."

There was no sign of Barkley and Venice for the next two days, and then a phone call came to the police in Arizona, from Hollywood. An officer approached Icing, when she was alone, to tell her what had been said.

"We've just had a call from another police station, two bodies have been discovered just outside Los Angeles, teenage girl and boy in his twenties. We've very little information at the minute about it, but it has come to our attention, that it could be your brother and sister," she says. Icing collapses into tears. "We understand this must be a very difficult time for you, firstly losing your cousin, and now having your brother and sister missing. We've organized a helicopter to take you to Los Angeles."

"I need to see Phoenix and Harley," says Icing, almost gagging. As soon as the door is opened she runs through and hurls herself at Harley, who is waiting outside.

"There's, there's. There's," she tries to say.

"Calm down, breathe Icing, breathe. Alright, try again," says Harley.

"There's, there's," she pauses and breathes for a while. "There's bodies in LA," she manages to say. Harley, who had been holding back a fresh bout of tears for her sister, let them run down her face freely.

"Icing, oh, Icing."

"They're flying me there in half an hour, you can come if you want to, but I'll understand if you want to stay here," Icing cries into Harley's shoulder. Harley considers this for a moment.

"I'll stay, but we've got to tell Phoenix, he's at the hotel," says Harley, she puts Icing, who's shaking uncontrollably, on one of the chairs in the police station, where a petitte policewoman sits with her, and heads off to the phone, she knows exactly where it is, and dials the number.

"Phoneix?"

"Yeah, what's wrong?"

"The LAPD think they've found Barkley and Venice's bodies."

"God, no."

"They're flying Icing out there in twenty minutes, she said I could go with her if I wanted but I said I'll stay here."

"No, you go, I'll stay and sort things out."

"Are you sure? It's so awful being so far apart. If you're really sure, then I'll go with her, she gave us so much support, and is still giving it, even though the chances for Barkley and Venice are slim. I don't know when I'll speak to you next then, but I'll try and phone as soon as possible, I'll phone when we know. . ." she let the sentence trail off. She said goodbye and went back to Icing, who's still sitting in the same chair, a plastic up of hot chocolate in her hands. She stands up as soon as Harley comes back.

"We're going now," she says.

"Is the helicopter here yet?"

"No, but I want to be ready when it does, I have to get there as soon as possible."

_**A/N: **Not looking too bright is it?_


	11. The Plan

_**A/N: **I. . . have, just. . . decided. I am. . .an Ent. Nah, I've just decided, that although I don't have a plan for another Secret Window story at the present moment in time, I don't wanna leave this one where it ends. So there is a great possibility, of there being 4 stories. Just to let ya know._

Chapter Eleven: The plan

As soon as Icing stepped into the cool LA police department she knew there was no hope, she didn't have to see the two bodies to know they were her brother and sister. Harley came in with her and they spent mere seconds in the room before Icing had to be shown out. She picked up the phone to phone her mother, on the cruise, to tell her, but put the receiver back.

"Do you want me to do it?" Harley says, behind her, resting a hand on her shoulder. Icing shook her head and lifted the phone once more, but again put it down.

"Just give me a minute," she says.

Clementine is sitting out on the porch, reading a book, in a cute white skirt and pale pink top, sunglasses perched on her nose. Mort comes out of the house and onto the porch, carrying his laptop.

"That girl you were interested in, they've identified her," says Mort, sitting down and opening his laptop.

"Oh?" Clementine asks, looking up from her book.

"Cedar, something, I can't remember her last name, I just remember the first because it's an unusual one."

"Pretty. Its such a shame, her mom must be going through hell," Clementine says. Mort doesn't reply, but opens his saved story, and begins to type.

In the end Harley phoned Mrs. Hales and she said she would get a helicopter to land on the cruise ship and take her to the nearest island with an airport, and get the first plane she could out to Hollywood, but it would take a couple of days. In the meantime, she said to her niece between tears, stay strong, and be observant.

The police wanted to question Icing and Harley. They both sat in an interview room like suspects.

"Sorry about the location, but this is the place for this. You're not suspects, or anything like that at all, we just need to ask you a few things." Harley nodded her head to signify that she understood. "This second, tragedy," the interviewer chose their word carefully. "Now implies that this isn't a one off murder and that there is someone out there, after you, as a family group. What we're going to do is keep you together, and, after talking to the Arizona police, we're going to fly Phoneix out here, and we'll carry on with the investigation in Los Angeles."

"Will Levi come out here too?" asks Harley.

"Yes."

"I don't want her to be on her own."

"She'll come too. We're going to put you in a supervised house, in Los Angeles, where there will be a police officer around the clock, to ensure your safety, while the investigation continues. In two days, we'll have everything concerning the murders of Barkley and Venice Hales, and Levi Andrews, in the Los Angeles office so the investigation can be as contained as possible, and not spread out. In two days we'll take you to the house, by that time Phoniex will be here. Is that fine with you?"

"Yes, that's fine," Harley says, Icing only manages a nod.

Back in Arizona, Phoenix was being told the same thing. That he'd be travelling to Los Angeles in two days when everything's sorted out to stay with Harley and Icing where the police could keep an eye on them. But for now, they wanted him to start packing everything that was at the hotel room, ready to go.

Two days came, and Phoenix did not arrive in Los Angeles with everything else.


	12. What?

_**A/N: **Hey guys, sorry about the wait, my internet's doing an internety thing that I don't have a clue about, so. . .hmm. But it'll be working alright soon and then I'll update all the time!!!_

Chapter Twelve: What?

Icing and Harley were in the house they had been allocated, all the things from the Arizona hotel and the LA hotel were with them, except Levi, Venice, Barkley and Phoenix. Frequent calls went back and forth from both states police, asking where Phoenix was, and nobody knew.

Icing and Harley didn't even ask about it after they had been told he hadn't come, they sat in the living room of the house, waiting for the phonecall to say his body had been found. And true enough, two more days later, it came. He would be flown to Los Angeles, so the bodies, evidence, not that there was much, and information could be kept together. Icing and Harley knew that there was somebody out there, after them, and they wouldn't even open the curtains, go in the garden, separate from one another, even in different rooms. There was constantly an armed police officer at the house, and they left, only when they really had to, in a police car with tinted windows and more than one escort. They did leave, once, to go to the police station. They gave interviews and Harley identified the body. The police were commited, and sure, that whoever this was, and there was no clue yet, would not get Icing and Hraley.

Clementine is at the literary agency where she used to work, she's taken up writing full-time. She's showing her boss her new story, the romantic comedy, hopefully up for the Christmas number one. After her meeting, she catches up with Dini, an old friend at the office.

"It's been like hell, she's such a cow, I mean it, I could strangle her," Dini says as she and Clementine stand by the coffee machine.

"Then I'm glad I'm not here much," Clementine laughs, sipping coffee.

"So, what have you been up to? In your new found freedom from hell?" asks Dini.

"Not a lot, I write a lot, and we go out nights, we're not planning any trips since the Las Vegas incident, not for a while anyway. But it's great just to lounge around, write, and watch TV," Clementine descibes a hard life.

"Hmm, isn't it terrible about those kids in California though? Three dead out of six, unimaginable," says Dini.

"What?"

"You know that missing girl, Cedar?" Clementine nods. "They've found her cousins Easton and Blossom dead too."

"What?"

"Yeah. Right in the middle of their vacation too, and there's only three left. Police are putting them under protection, but they just want to get back to Texas, I saw it on the news this morning. Warnings in Los Angeles about a murderer all over the place."

"Three dead?" asks Clementine. Dini nods.

"Didn't you see the report?"

"California vacation? Texas?" Dini nods again. "I've got to get home."

"Icing, I want to go home," Harley says one night, only a few after news of Phoenix's death, clutching a pilliow under her chin. "The cops won't find them, they're not even trying anymore. I want to go back to Texas."

"I know, me too. I want to see mom," Icing says.

"Do you know when she's coming here?"

"The cops say the day after tomorrow," Icing tells her.

"I want to go home, we'll be safe at home."

"We gotta stay here, for our own protection," says Icing, stroking Harley's hair. Harley snorts.

"Now we're going to be in a house for the rest of our lives, scared to go out or even open the curtains because someone's killed our brother and sisters and our cousins. Scared to open a window and smell the fresh air because someone's after us. America's a big place, we could go anywhere, we could go abroad. I can't stay in California," she sighs, as if giving up.

"I'll ask tomorrow when we can go home," sas Icing.

At the police station the next day, Icing does ask when she and Harley would be able to go home, and when her mother would get there. The answers were the same as usual. Her mom would be there tomorrow, even though no one had heard from her, and they would be staying in California for the forseeable future.

"Can't we just go?" asks Harley, that afternoon, out of earshot of the policeman on duty. "We'll write a note telling your mom that we've gone home, and then she'll join us there. We'll be safe with her."

Harley kept talking like this all through the afternoon, and Icing was beginning to think it was a good idea.

"The car's out the front, we don't really need any of this stuff, we could just get in and go," Harley says. Her things hadn't been unpacked since they got in the secure house, they'd stayed in a suitcase, ready for when they'd be able to leave, but they couldn't see it any time soon.

"Is your stuff ready?" Icing asks, under her breath an hour and a half later. Both Icing and Harley had packed only the things they really needed into smaller bags, which they could put on their backs. Harley nodded. Icing went into the living room, where the cop was.

"We're just going in the garden for a while," she says to the officer, who looks up.

"In the garden?"

"Yeah, we can't stay inside forever, we'll get rickets, severe vitamin k disorders, we'll just be outside the window, we're far off the road and we won't be outside long, alright?" She woman nodded and shifted her position on the couch a little so she could see most of the garden, and still see the TV.

The two girls picked up their bags and left boldly through the front door, sneaking past the window so they couldn't be seen, and round to where the car was parked, about fifty yards from the house. Icing got into the drivers seat, and Harley into the passengers, she found the spare car key, kept under the backseat, and started up the engine.

Inside the house, the cop never moved her eyes from the TV screen, she didn't hear the car start, or move off down the road, into the night.

Clementine got into her car and turned it on, putting her foot down hard on the gas. The similarities between these six kids on vacation to Caifornia, from Texas, three dead, and the story Mort was writing was just too close for comfort. She had to tell Mort to write a happy ending, well, if that was possible, but she had to keep these last three kids alive. By the sound of it, their lives were not in the police's hands, they could do nothing, but Mort could.


	13. Real Life

_**A/N: **Two more chappies my lovelies! This is where everything gets explained, and maybe the next chapter too, but we're not there yet. xx_

Chapter Thirteen: Real Life

Icing drove down the highway, Harley silent beside her. They knew they weren't doing wrong by the law, as the others were dead, they were the victims. And they weren't doing wrong by themselves, either, they wanted to go home, and be rid of the vacation, so they were.

It was about half past eleven and Icing couldn't be sure if Harley was asleep or just quiet beside her. She began to hum a tune, one of her favorite songs and she drove down the road, unnoticed. Or so she thought.

Harley, was asleep beside her, every now and then she'd give a little grunt or a sigh and roll over a bit, in her seated position. Icing looked down at her, she was all Harley had now, her and her mom, Harley's mom had died years ago, when Harley was only small, months after her dad left. She had no parents around, her brother and sister had both died, all she had in the world was Icing and her mom. And yet she looked so peaceful, Icing thought, as she looked down at her, as if there was nothing on her shoulders, the world was her oyster, and she had the happiest family of all behind her, supporting her. The reality was different, and Icing fully understood the difference between sleeping Harley and waking Harley. She could lose herself in her dreams, she could anything she wanted, she did have the family she so wanted and needed, it was just a rough bump back into the real world.

The news came on the radio in Clementine's car as she turns into the road up to the house. She listens out for any news on the missing and dead teenagers. A report comes on.

"LAPD are today revealing that a fourth teenager has died in California, he has been identified as Blakeney Wells, brother of Cedar Wells, and cousin of Blossom and Easton Hemmings who all died a few days previously. The remaining two girls, Sissy Wells and Minnesota Hemmings are being held by police for their own protection in Los Angeles. There are no leads and no clues to the deaths of what has been a very tragic family accident."

"Oh God, stop it Mort, stop," Clementine mutters under her breath as she pulls up outside the house on Tashmore Lake, the car has only just stopped as she gets out and runs into the house.

"Mort! Mort!" she shouts, as loud as she can up the stairs. Mort, oblivious to all the news, leans over the banister and gives her a cheery smile.

"Hey, nearly finished my story, got about three chapters left," he says, sitting back down. Clementine jumps up the stairs.

"Mort, you can't finish the story," she says, going over to the laptop.

"Why not? I'm at the end, the end's the most important part of the story," he says.

"How many of the kids have you killed off?" Clementine asks in panic.

"Five," comes Mort's confused reply. "Why?"

"Oh God. Something's happening Mort, there's four dead teenagers in California who's lives are following your story, they've got, the unusual names, they're from Texas they were going to Hollywood, everything. Mort, you can't kill off the last girl, you've got to let her live."

"What? That's crazy, it's just a story," says Mort.

"Mort! Look, watch this," Clementine says, almost dragging her husband down from upstairs and she turns on the TV, flicking onto the news channel.

"This is financial news, what's going on Clementine?"

"Wait," Clementine ordered. And Mort waits, and as Mort waits, the report comes on.

"No more news has been discovered about the California vacation killings. Today Sissy Wells and Minnesota Hemmings were moved to a secure building, we cannot disclose the location. The two girls have been through the tragic loss of two siblings and two cousins each. Cedar Wells disappeared at the rest stop at the California Arizona state line, Blossom Hemmings then disappeared in Hollywood, followed by her brother Easton Hemmings who was looking for her. Today, another of the family has been discovered, strangled, just like the others, Blakeney Wells was found in Arizona yesterday, police reveal today. There are no clues and no leads for the case and the police are drawing a blank. We'll keep you informed as soon as we find out any more news on this case."

"So there's only one left now? Who did I kill? Harley. She'd be, Sissy Wells, they break out of the secure location and are on the road home, Icing doesn't watch the road and she crashes and blacks out, when she comes round Harley's gone. This has already happened," says Mort, panic fleeting across his face also.

"Alright, how does the story end, how have you planned it to end?" asks Clementine.

"The last one, Minnesota's going to die at. . ."

"No. We can't do that, the last one's got to live, we can't kill the last one. Lets get writing," says Clementine, turning off the TV and dragging Mort back upstairs. She opens the laptop and sits him down in the chair. "Alright. They're on the road, she's crashed, Harley? Harley's gone. Then, this is what's going to happen. . ."


	14. Shooters Ending

_**A/N: ** Right, chapter before the end guys! Eek! Um, thank you Dawnie-7, I was looking at reviews from other stories and you've reviewed every one of my Secret Window ones! You are very special. To Ally Eileen for saying my work is 'great.' And Elena for saying 'really interesting.' I know an Elena. I like nice reviews! Soooo, on we go. And just to let you know (again,) this probably won't be the end, because I don't like the way it finishes, but it finishes good for this particular story. So look out for more Mort (!!!) but he'll be a little while I'm afraid, stuck in endless traffic._

Chapter Fourteen: Shooters Ending

As Clementine is deciding how to end the story with Mort, there is a knock on the door. Clementine leaves Mort to continue writing the new ending, and opens the it. There stands Shooter. Clementine looks up at Mort, Mort was Shooter, and Mort was upstairs, Shooter was always another person, then how could Shooter be. . ?

"Where's Mr. Rainey?" he asks, immediately.

"Shit!" comes Mort's voice as he hears Shooter downstairs. "Shooter! This really isn't the time!" Clementine tries to close the door on Shooter but he forces his way in.

"Well I think this is the time, Mr. Rainey. I'd say I'm jus' in time," he says.

"Alright, Shooter, what do you want?"

"It's what I don't want that matters, Mr. Rainey. I don't want you to change the ending."

"What? Then this last girl, Minnesota, is gonna die!" exclaims Mort.

"Exactly, that's the way the story goes. I've been killin' off these kids so you've got a story, and now you're gonna ruin all my hard work," Shooter says, sitting down on the edge of the table, next to Mort and his laptop.

"What?" Clementine exclaims. "You're the Californian Vacation Killer?"

"Uh huh. Mr. Rainey needed a story, so I gave him the story. And now I've done this, for him, I can go, I can go leave you two well alone," explains Shooter.

"You, didn't go before?" asks Mort, a little nervously.

"Nope, I couldn't go then, but now I've done this for you I can, that's why you gotta keep the ending my way!" Shooter suddenly starts shouting.

"Mort, you gotta change the end, Icing's gotta live, we'll just have to put up with Shooter," says Clementine from behind Shooter.

"So it's either this girl's life, or my life rid of you?" Mort asks. Shooter nods. "And if I kill the girl then you'll never come back?" Again, he nods. Mort turns around in the rotating chair, fingers hovering above the keyboard, and begins to finish the ending.


	15. The End

_**A/N: ** Last chappie guys. Hope you enjoy. Well, I think it's quite sad, but. . .there could more more! I don't want to write another A/N at the end cos I think it'll spoil it, so, thanks for your reviews, I really appreciate them. And watch this space for more (though it could be a while.)_

_Lots of love_

_Silver Bell_

_xx_

Chapter Fifteen: The End

Icing wakes, her head heavy, she can smell the blood and puts her fingers up to where her head hurts most, and feels the blood matting her hair. She tries to move all her limbs, they all seem to work. She reahces for her seatbelt, lot of good that did her, and unclasps it, rolling out of the car. As she rolls over the passenger seat, she realizes that Harley isn't there. She stands up, hand held to her head, trying to numb the pain searing through her body and escaping her skull as blood. She takes a few tentative steps forward, that appear as staggering.

"Harley?" she attempts to shout, but she cannot find her voice so it comes out more of a whisper. "Harley?" she tries again, getting stronger, now of the sound of talking. The next time though, she yells. "HARLEY!" She walks a further few steps, shouting, screaming the name of her cousin, not wanting to be the last one left, knowing that the next one to die, would be her. "Harley!" There's no sound, not even birds distubed from a nights sleep by the crash and the shouting. "Harley!" The trees are silent, there's no wind to rustle the leaves, nothing to give Icing even the slightest comforting sound. She kneels and cries, and doesn't stop crying.

An hour and a half later, she's still on her kness, crying her heart out when the sirens of police cars stop just on the road, twenty yards away, but Icing cannot see them.

They stop to look in the other car, the driver is gone, two cars carry on down the highway, in case the smashed car was just coincidence. As the police officers left are organzing a tow truck to come and pick up the smashed car, Icing stagers out of the trees.

"Help," she barely whispers. "Help," before falling onto the nearest policeman who helps support her, sitting her down in one of the police cars and gives her water.

"Where's Harley?" they all ask, and Icing merely points back to the woods to let them know that she's gone, that when they search the woods they'll find one more dead body, of the same family, strangled. Police call for backup, and then take flashlights out of cars, and head into the woods, two police staying with Icing.

They take her to the nearest town, staying with her in the police station, while she sleeps on a makeshift bed, worn out, while they call a paramedic to see to her head, the bleeding had slowed, but there was still an open wound, that might need stitching.

The next morning, after hours of searching and hundreds of police, Harley's body is brought out of the woods. Icing's mother, joins her minutes later, returning from her cruise, to find all but one of her children dead.

Minnesota Hemmings never recovered from that vacation. She never got over the deaths of her brother, sister and cousins, her closest friends. She died six weeks after of a broken heart. Her mother, left childless, tried to rebuild her life for three months, but commited suicide twenty five weeks after the first death.

They are all buried together in Texas.

Rest In Peace


End file.
